The Soul of a Machine
by USEChairman
Summary: In the infant days of the Great Cybertronian War, two neutral scientists are sent out to the stars with the mission to discover new worlds that could help the Autobots in their fight against the vile Decepticons. However, their travels will take them to a new civilization ravaged by it's own, furious civil war; one waged between the vicious Mavericks and those who hunt them.


**[In the year 21XX, on the distant moon of Europa…]**

"_Starscream! Come look at this! It's incredible!"_

Starscream, a young, red and grey seeker hailing from the planet Cybertron, rolled his optics as he heard his companion's voice sounding in his COMM, disturbing him from his quick moment of peace. Primus, he really didn't want to deal with this right now. Both he and his associate had been journeying the cosmos for some time now, and while Starscream himself had grown thoroughly bored of the same old space oddities and cosmic wonders, his companion was unfortunately far more… excitable.

"_Jetfire, if it's so important, than you can just bring it to me. I'm busy."_

As if on cue, Starscream suddenly heard the telltale sound of distant engines roaring to life. Within moments, Jetfire had flown down to where Starscream lay and transformed to his robot mode in midair, drifting down slowly thanks to the moon's low gravity.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he touched down on the cold, icy surface with a soft _thump_.

Starscream shrugged as he lay on his back, hands behind his helm and using a boulder as a makeshift headrest. "I'm resting."

"You said you were busy."

"What is it, Jetfire?" He snapped.

"Yes yes, of course!"

With a veritable spring in his step, the huge, white and red mech dashed over to his friend and knelt down, pointing upwards as he did. "Do you see that?"

"See what?"

"Starscream, you have to look."

Starscream huffed, but relented and followed his friend's finger until his optics were directed at the gargantuan planet hanging above them like a distant omen. The planet in question was a brown and rusty red gas giant, and so massive that if the two of them were to try finding a surface beneath that swirling atmosphere, or even got a bit too close, they'd get caught in its insurmountable gravitational pull and likely never escape again. And that's assuming they'd even survive the trip down.

"Yes? What about it?"

"Do you see that red spot, right there?" Jetfire asked, the excitement in his voice almost palpable as he pointed to a distinctive, circular blot on the planet's face. "I've been taking some readings, and look what I found!"

He activated an arm-mounted holographic projector, bringing up a wide screen covered in all kinds of graphs and scientific jargon. Just looking at it all made Starscream drowsy.

"Fascinating…" He drawled, only barely suppressing a yawn.

"Isn't it? If this data is right, then that spot is a super storm that's been raging for _centuries_, and is almost three or four times bigger than Cybertron."

"So what?" Starscream scoffed. "We've seen some big storms like that before. What's so special about this one?"

"Oh come now, weren't you listening? Four. Times bigger than Cybertron. And the sheer turbulence of the storm itself is _breathtaking._ Why, if it were possible to-"

"Jetfire," The seeker interrupted, his voice brimming with acid, "do you really think Nova Prime is going to care about this?"

"Well…" Jetfire's smile fell a bit. "I suppose… most likely not. But even still-"

"Then I fail to see why you're so enthralled by its _celestial grandeur_. We have been plodding along on this pointless errand for _vorns _now, and yet you somehow think we're actually doing something of importance. You know what would really help the mission? If you would just stop your constant blabbering and leave me alone."

And with that, the seeker's helm fell back onto the boulder and he shut his optics, an irritated frown on his faceplate.

"I… fail to see how that helps the 'mission'."

"Oh, keep thinking about it. I'm sure _something_ will occur to you."

Jetfire's blue optics narrowed, however, he restrained himself from uttering the sharp comment that was crackling on the speaker of his voice box.

Instead, he sighed and shook his helm, turning tailpipe and sulking away quietly before transforming and flying off. He was likely intending to distract himself by immersing himself back in his scientific pursuits.

Starscream gumbled to himself quietly, watching the white and red mech through a half-shuttered optic until he disappeared behind a squat, craggy hill on the moon's ice-ridden landscape. He didn't exactly mean to be so caustic towards his friend, but unfortunately, he had been in a vile mood lately, and poor Jetfire was the only one around to whom he could unleash some of his frustrations upon.

_Bah, it doesn't matter,_ he tried to reason with himself. _Jetfire's tough enough to take a few verbal punches. Besides, he understands how much I hate this whole thing. More than anyone else._

In Starscream's optics, this entire journey was a complete waste of time and resources. The two of them, as some of the most premier and talented scientific graduates that Cybertron had ever seen, had been tasked by the _esteemed_ Nova Prime to venture out into the wider galaxy with the simple mission to scout out uncharted worlds and anything else that could be of any significant interest.

Starscream knew what that really meant. All Nova Prime and the rest of his pretentious Autobots wanted was to find a new world on which to establish a base and harvest resources that could give them a tactical advantage over that foolish rebellion spreading out of the lower depths of Kaon. So, under the guise of of a mass, scientifically-minded crusade, they had sent out hordes of scientists and explorers to every corner of the galaxy, Starscream and Jetfire among them. They had even made it a point to make sure all mechs involved were neutrals, so as to try and convince all the idiots on either side that it was a peaceful endeavor.

Of course, that didn't stop them from arming all participants, for "self defense".

Starscream frankly didn't see the point. Even if that halfwit gladiator and his Decepticons actually were strong enough to take their fight to the stars, Starscream seriously doubted the "war" would even last that long. From all that Starscream had seen, the Decepticons were unorganized, untrained, and most of all, unbearably stupid. He was almost positive that by the time he and Jetfire returned home, they would have all been crushed out and everything would have already returned to normal.

Of course, "normal" wasn't exactly what Starscream wanted. But what could he, or anyone else, really do about it?

He grumbled to himself once more as his optics began absentmindedly wandering the terrain around them. Pit, this place was a wasteland. The only reason the duo had landed on this uncharted, icy rock was because Jetfire had noticed from his readings that this moon, more so than any other planetoid they'd come across in their expedition, had conditions that could potentially support small-scale organic life. And the fact that he had yet to find any of the like had hardly deterred him.

Starscream honestly didn't know why he cared so much. Organics were stupid, weak, and boring. Even at their best and most intelligent, their civilizations only tended to last a fraction of the lifetime of even a single Cybertronian, and their individual lives were often even shorter than that. Nothing of flesh and blood could ever compare to gears, wires, and energon. The young seeker had never doubted that before.

Starscream sighed softly and shuttered his optics again. He really needed to recharge. Perhaps, if he was lucky, Jetfire would give him at least a few-

"_Starscream! You need to come here!"_

It was at about that moment that Starscream realized he had yet to test out his new Null-Rays against a fellow Cybertronian. He did need to make sure they worked correctly after all, and it's not like they were lethal.

With an irritated groan, he responded to Jetfire's COMM. "_What is it now?"_

"_It's a… I can't believe it..."_

"_For Primus' sake, whatever it is, just bring it to me!"_

"_No, Starscream, I can't. You really, really need to see this for yourself."_

Starscream rolled his optics again, however, he relented this time, pushing himself up off the ground and sluggishly climbing back to his pedes. Then, after a long moment to stretch his struts and joints and blink the drowsiness from his optics, he leaped into the air and gracefully transformed into a sleek, custom jet alt. before blasting off, making towards Jetfire's signal.

It didn't take long before the speedy seeker found his companion near the middle of a large, circular crater, kneeling down as if studying something on the ground. With a deft, midair flip, Starscream transformed back to his bipedal mode and began slowly falling down, on path to land right in front of the white and red transport.

"Alright, what are you so-"

"Starscream! No!"

Before the seeker had time to react, Jetfire had suddenly sprung up like a madman and leaped towards him, clumsily tackling him in midair. Starscream let out a shocked cry as the two of them tumbled to the ground and landed hard, the smaller seeker being crushed underneath the red and white transport.

"Gah! Get off of me!" Starscream shouted as he shoved the larger mech off of him and pushed himself back up to his pedes. "Are you glitched!? What's the matter with you?"

Jetfire didn't seem too perturbed by Starscream's accusation as he climbed back to his own pedes and calmly dusted himself off. "Starscream, you really need to look where you're landing."

"What are you babbling about?"

Starscream's angry glare turned from his friend to the spot he had tried to land on, only to see what Jetfire was talking about. Standing out like a lone tree in a barren desert, there was something sticking out of the dusty ground that was clearly not natural. Starscream, his anger fading a bit in curiosity, knelt down a bit to see that the object was a textile flag on a metal pole, standing out straight to clearly display its distinct arrangement of stripes and various colors.

"Well, that's interesting…" Starscream found himself muttering.

"Isn't it? And look at those! Right there!" Jetfire pointed to the ground around where the flag was propped up. Starscream followed his digit to see that there were a number of footprints scattered all around on the dusty ground, footprints that were only a fraction of the size of an average Cybertronian ped, and likely had been preserved for a long time thanks to the lack of atmosphere.

"Hmm, what do you suppose made these?" Starscream asked, reaching out a servo.

"Don't touch them!" Jetfire said quickly, darting forward and pulling Starscream's arm out of the way. "We can't disturb them."

Starscream yanked his arm out of his friend's grasp and gave him an irritated look. "And why not? Aren't we supposed to be studying things like this?"

Jetfire seemed far too excited to notice the sarcastic undertones. "Starscream, do you realize what this is?"

"I don't know. Proof that there's intelligent life somewhere on this rock?"

Jetfire shook his helm. "No, we would have found some of the like if there were. This must have come from offworld."

"So, what? Someone came here to… I don't know, claim ownership of this ugly ball of ice? Seems like a waste of time to me."

"Starscream, you don't understand. If this were an attempt to expand territory, we would have seen more signs of that. This…" He pointed to the flag. "This is an _accomplishment_. An _achievement._ This came from a young, blossoming species that's taken just one more, feeble step on their journey out into the wider universe, laying down milestones as they slowly break free from their tiny system."

Starscream crossed his arms, an amused smirk on his faceplate. "When did you become so poetic?"

Jetfire didn't answer, instead continuing to study the flag and the footprints surrounding it, cautiously making sure not to touch them. "By the Allspark… You understand what this means, right?"

Starscream nodded. "First contact…"

"Exactly! There's no record of any populated worlds in this sector. We could be the very first Cybertronians, potentially the first alien organisms in general, to ever come into contact with this civilization."

"And how would that benefit us?"

Jetfire gave the seeker a bewildered look, as though the question hadn't even been on his processor. "It… well, it wouldn't, I suppose… but that wouldn't be the point, right?"

Starscream sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "No, I suppose not. All in the name of science, am I right?"

"Exactly!"

The look on Jetfire's faceplate could only be described as pure elation, likely as the prospect of being the first Cybertronian to discover a totally new alien civilization grew on his processor. No doubt he was already trying to figure out ways to communicate with such a species, and was certainly already imagining the ways he could study them and their culture.

Starscream on the other hand… well, he wasn't totally uninterested. He didn't exactly want to spend much time on a disgusting, organic world among its fleshy inhabitants. But at the same time, the idea of having his name credited to the discovery of said undiscovered world did admittedly cause a small grin to curl at the edges of his mouth.

_Perhaps they'll name it after me. "Planet Starscream." I like the sound of that…_

"So, what's our plan then?" Starscream asked at last.

"R-really? No complaints?"

"Well… not for now at least. I'm willing to humor you on this one, and I suppose I can't say I'm _completely_ adverse to the idea."

The grin that grew on Jetfire's faceplate was almost childlike. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say the world we're looking for is somewhere in this system. It's possible that they've colonized worlds beyond their homeworld but… well, I don't know. We need more data to make any solid conclusions."

"So, I'm guessing we've got a bit more exploring to do?"

Jetfire nodded and suddenly began to pace back and forth with two digits on his chin and a focused gleam in his optics. "If I can just study this system and its star a bit longer, I should be able to form a hypothesis on the approximate coordinates of the alien's world of origin. Now, I know that multi-celled lifeforms tend to require a very specific temperature range in order to thrive effectively, not to mention a powerful, terrestrial magnetic field that protects them from cosmic ultra-violet rays. Though it is possible that…"

At this point, Jetfire seemed to have droned out the world around him as he paced and muttered to himself, a fact that made the seeker roll his optics.

"Jetfire!" He said before the transport's rambling could really get rolling.

"Y-yes?" Jetfire stopped in his tracks and blinked as though waking from a recharge. "Ah, yes! Of course. I apologize, I was just-"

"I know, I know." Starscream huffed with a wave of his servo. "You think better out loud."

"Yes. Yes I do." He let out a short 'ahem'. "So, uh... Back to the ship then?"

"After you." Starscream said with a mock bow and gesture.

With a nod and a smile, Jetfire leaped into the air and transformed before blasting off, while Starscream followed suit immediately after. The two of them soared over the barren surface of the icy moon side-by-side, both minds already consumed by thoughts of their coming journey.

_It's about time something interesting happened on this worthless slog of an expedition, _Starscream thought. _I just hope I don't have to do the talking whenever we meet these primitive fleshies._

"Starscream?"

Starscream only barely heard Jetfire's voice over the roar of both of their engines, however he responded in turn. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say thank you. Despite your, um… intermittent moods, you're still the only friend I'd want to leave home and travel the stars with. So, thank you."

Had he been in his robot mode, Starscream would have rolled his optics. "Bah, you're far too sentimental for your own good, Jetfire." However, he paused for a moment before adding. "But, you're welcome. I'd want to travel with myself too, but you're a passable second."

Starscream could just imagine the dopey grin on Jetfire's faceplate, and he let out a silent sigh.

_The things I do for this oaf._

* * *

Meanwhile, as the two Cybertronians made their way to their starship, another duo of mechanical beings were undertaking their own mission. On the planet Earth, on a tiny, remote island in the Pacific Ocean, a pair of robots were stalking the thick, humid jungle. Despite the fact that neither of them had ever encountered a wholly natural landscape before, both were navigating the cluttered terrain with ease, while primed weapons indicated that they were both expecting and prepared for a fight.

"I don't like how quiet it is…"

"Just keep your eyes open. We can handle whatever they throw at us."

Mega Man X, a high-tech Maverick Hunter clad in blue battle armor, frowned and glanced at his companion. "Sigma's forces are usually so aggressive. If our intel is correct and this island is Zap Hummingbird's base of operations, why haven't we encountered any resistance?"

Zero, another Hunter with red and white armor and a long, yellow ponytail, shrugged in response. "I don't know. It's possible our intel was incorrect, right?"

"Possibly…" X muttered.

"You worry too much, X." Zero said as the two slid down a short, steep slope, both landing deftly despite the packed and tangled undergrowth on the jungle floor.

"So I've been told."

Zero chuckled softly before he deactivated his Z-Buster arm cannon and leaned against the trunk of a nearby, overgrown tree, sighing as he did. "This is getting us nowhere. What do you say we rendezvous back with the group and see if we can figure out another way to track down Zap Hummingbird?"

"I suppose. I still don't understand what we're missing."

"Sigma is crafty. I wouldn't be surprised if it's hiding in plain sight."

X shook his head. "No, I don't mean that. I mean, what is his game? This island is in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't offer him any strategic advantage or any valuable resources as far as we know. So why establish a base here? And why work so hard to hide its coordinates, but then not even try to defend it when we track it down?"

"Except we haven't tracked it down yet. Once we find the entrance to whatever fortress or facility or whatever else he's hiding, I'm sure Hummingbird will send everything he's got at us. You're overthinking things."

"So it doesn't bother you?"

Zero shook his head. "It'll be fine, X. We'll figure it out. Now come on, let's meet back up with the others."

X sighed. "Alright. Just… keep your eyes open."

"I wasn't planning on closing them." He said with a smirk. "Now, you coming?"

X nodded absentmindedly as the red Hunter turned heel and began climbing back up the hill. The nagging feeling that something wasn't right continued to scratch at X's processor, despite his friend's assurances.

However, the blue bomber still eventually sighed and shook his head as he began following Zero's footsteps.

_He's right, I do worry too much._

Of course, the thought didn't serve to stifle his worry. Neither did it serve to deter the tiny, bird-like drone hovering just above his head like a vulture, keeping a vigilant, silent watch on the two, unaware Hunters.

* * *

Deep beneath the ground, Zap Hummingbird, the Maverick in charge of the hidden research facility, kept a careful eye on the Hunters from a surveillance monitor, the hub of an island-wide network of camouflaged drones. In the time he had been observing them, they had come dangerously close to his base's many entrances quite a few times. However, they continued to overlook them, and just now seemed to be giving up and heading back towards the group of Hunters that had set up a temporary base on the sandy, island shore.

"They are completely witless." A voice said from behind Hummingbird, causing the Maverick to flinch in surprise and spin around to face his guest.

"They'll figure it out soon enough." He responded, his high, shrill voice ringing throughout the dark room like the squee of a bat. "X and Zero are the best the Hunters have."

"It matters not. My research is nearing completion, and your commander will soon get what he wants. These 'Maverick Hunters' are of no consequence to my plans."

"A lot of reploids have thought that in the past, and they all got proven wrong in the end. I wouldn't underestimate them."

The figure looked down at Hummingbird with a cold, sterile eye. "If I am proven wrong, I will adjust my perspective accordingly. But as for now, I will not pay these vermin any mind. In case you forget, Hummingbird, I am no reploid."

* * *

**Author's Note:** _I know I shouldn't be writing this. I know I have 3 or 4 other stories that I really need to finish before I even consider starting something else. But, this idea has been nagging at me for a while now, and I've found that I had an easier time getting this down on paper (metaphorically) than I have had with anything else. So, why not? I can juggle another ball, right? Yeah, probably not._

_Anyway, I've been a massive Transformers fan for quite a while now, beginning with Transformers Animated years ago, and peaking with Transformers Prime, which I think is by far the best show in the franchise and I think is a must watch for any and all people who are even REMOTELY interested in the Transformers name. However, I've only really been a Mega Man fan for about a year now, when I picked up Mega Man 11 some time ago. After beating that a few times and enjoying it immensely, I took the dive and purchased just about every Mega Man and Mega Man X-related items I could get my hands on (within the realms of my limited budget.) All I can say is that it's been a wild ride and I can firmly say that I'm gonna be a Mega Man fan for years to come._

_And you know, I think a crossover between Transformers and the X series just makes sense, and I'm surprised it hasn't been attempted more than it has (at least as much as I've seen on this site.) The stories just mesh so well and share such similar beats and themes. A massive civil war between two factions of the same race, with your megalomaniac leaders on one side and your pacifistic heroes on the other. The chief difference in that while the Reploids haven't 'quite' reached the level of an independent, autonomous species, the Cybertronians have been the masters of their world for millennia upon millennia. I dunno, I think it's interesting._

_Anyway, enough of that. In terms of timelines and continuity, on the X side, this story takes place after X3. I was debating whether I should put it after the last game, X8, but I don't think that would really mesh as well with the story I had in mind. So, after the Dr. Doppler arc, but before the Repliforce and the voice acting. And as for the Transformers side of it, I'm taking a couple of liberties. This will 'technically' be set in a G1-esque setting, (both Starscream and Jetfire are rocking their G1 looks, if you're wondering) but I'm going to be taking a lot of inspirations from Prime and the Aligned continuity as well, as well as a few additions of my own. I'll try not to make it too confusing._

_I've been rambling too much. Thank you all so much for reading, and if any of you happened to be readers of any of my other stories... sorry. I'm bad at planning, as I'm sure you could already tell._

_Thank you all so much for viewing and reviewing, and I'll see you all later._

_Yours truly, Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman._


End file.
